Business
09:58, 26-Jul-2017
Cuba’s new mine marks first foreign joint venture in 20 years
[]
Share
Copied
By CGTN's Michael Voss
A new zinc and lead mine has opened in Cuba. It’s the first foreign financed mining joint venture on the island in more than 20 years.
The 300 million dollar Emincar mine and processing project is a joint venture between the Cuban government and Trafigura, a Singapore-registered, Swiss-headquartered mining and oil trading conglomerate of Dutch origin.
“The Russians took a look at it but never developed it. Then Trafigura came along through a feasibility study and revised economics and a new way of doing the project. We managed to make it an economical project and brought it into production,” Daniel Vanin, Trafigura Chief Operating Officer said.
Ore extraction from the open cast mine began in July. The downstream processing plant, which will turn the rock into zinc and lead concentrate for export, is still under construction. The plant is due to become fully operational in October, providing jobs for almost 500 people.
12755km